Pauken drops out of GOP Gov race

AUSTIN—Tom Pauken, the former head of the Texas Workforce Commission, withdrew from the Republican gubernatorial race Thursday, citing a lack of money and campaign resources.

Pauken broke the news to supporters in a letter that said he made the decision over the Thanksgiving holiday after reassessing his chances.

“Unfortunately we are nowhere near where we need to be financially and organizationally to win this race,” he said. “And, the primary is only three months away. I can no longer in good conscience ask friends and fellow conservatives to continue to help me when there appears to be no realistic path to victory.”

Pauken had struggled to get his message out and raise large sums of cash to make him a legitimate threat to the Republican front runner in the race: Attorney General Greg Abbott, who reported a roughly $25 million campaign war chest in July.

The former head of the state Republican Party, Pauken reported raking in a little more than $221,000 in his last campaign finance report, which was released in July. His campaign estimated it needed to raise about $2 million to be competitive in the Republican primary.

In a statement Thursday, Abbott praised Pauken and said he “offered thoughtful ideas in areas such as vocational education and workforce development.”

“I thank him for his valuable contributions to the race, and I look forward to working together with him to build an even better Texas,” Abbott said.

Aside from Abbott, conservative author and radio show host Lisa Fritsch is the other candidate vying for the Republican nomination in the March primary.

Full text of the letter:

“Thanksgiving is a time to count our blessings, and I have much to be thankful for with such a great family and so many wonderful friends. The past month has made that even clearer and more dear to me. I want to thank you personally for your gracious and generous support of my campaign for Governor and the future of Texas. It is deeply appreciated.

Thanksgiving week also gave me the opportunity to reflect on where we were in the campaign and what we should do, going forward. Filing deadline is only days away, and I have to be realistic about our prospects. When I first filed our exploratory committee in March, I said at the time that there were certain, minimum objectives we needed to achieve to win the Republican nomination: (1) We had to raise a minimum of $2 million; (2) We had to build a strong, statewide organization; (3) We had to develop a major social media presence in a short period of time.

Even though I have worked hard to get our message out across the state the past six months, unfortunately we are nowhere near where we need to be financially and organizationally to win this race. And, the primary is only three months away. I can no longer in good conscience ask friends and fellow conservatives to continue to help me when there appears to be no realistic path to victory. Greg Abbott has a $25 million war chest and the media depicts this as a Greg Abbott v. Wendy Davis race.

My travels across the state make clear that Texans are frustrated with the direction our nation is headed. I fervently believe that we need a new style of leadership in our Party that will unite Texans and Americans behind sound policies based on our conservative principles, and take the fight to the Left. On the issue of education, I have fought hard for a return to local control and more opportunities for vocational education. We have to end this cancer of insider cronyism which infects both parties as government becomes more our master, rather than our servant. Clearly, my message has not resonated with enough contributors, party leaders, and grassroots conservatives to show a pathway to victory. I wish it were otherwise. I believe my message is the right one to bring Texans and Americans together for the good of the country, but perhaps I am not the right messenger – or, it is not the right time.

You have my assurance that I will continue the fight for our founding principles. But, under the circumstances I have decided not to file for the Republican nomination for Governor.